Turlock Unified School District GATE testing and NNAT® guide.

GATE is Turlock Unified School District's Gifted and Talented Education program. The NNAT® is the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test, a visual reasoning test that uses shapes and patterns instead of reading, vocabulary, or math facts. Turlock uses the third edition, the NNAT3.

This guide is for TUSD families in Turlock who want to know when 3rd grade testing happens, what score matters, and what happens after.

What Turlock Unified says about GATE testing

All 3rd graders enrolled in TUSD take the NNAT3 unless their parents choose not to have them participate. The district describes the NNAT3 as a nonverbal measure of general ability.

Turlock publishes two pathways to GATE identification in its GATE FAQ:

1. A score of 110 or higher on the NNAT3, or
2. A score of 100 to 109 on the NNAT3 plus multiple measures.

The multiple measure the district names is the Hope Rating Scale, a teacher instrument used to guide identifying gifted students. The FAQ gives these as scores, not percentiles, so ask the office if you want to know how your child's number converts.

What happens after testing

Families of identified students receive a letter with the NNAT3 score sheet and an enrollment form. You then have two choices: keep your child at their current school (the district simply records GATE identification), or return the form to request a seat in the GATE class at Julien Elementary, which serves grades 4 through 6. Depending on how many families enroll, the class may be self-contained or a GATE strand, and there can be a waitlist. The district does not provide transportation to the GATE program. A GATE Parent Orientation Night is held in January or February.

Once a student is identified, they do not have to retake the test. In middle school, identified students can take GATE ELA courses at Dutcher Middle School and Turlock Junior High School.

Questions Turlock parents should ask

1. What are the NNAT3 dates at our school this year?
2. If my child scores between 100 and 109, how is the Hope Rating Scale used?
3. Can a 4th or 5th grader who was absent or new to the district be tested?
4. If my child is identified, how long is the Julien Elementary waitlist?
5. When is this year's GATE Parent Orientation Night?
6. How do I opt out if we choose not to test?

Our broader questions to ask your school guide can help you turn those into one clear conversation with the teacher or principal.

How to prepare without adding pressure

With a December window, the useful time to start is October or November, well before the holidays. Keep it short and steady: 10 to 15 minutes a day is plenty. Start with format familiarity by showing your child the kinds of visual puzzles the NNAT® uses, and talk through the reasoning after each question rather than just marking it right or wrong.

Closer to the test, add at least two full timed practice tests so pacing on test day is not a surprise. Practice teaches your child what the questions look like and gives them ways to approach and think through them, so test day feels familiar instead of surprising. Our guide to how to prepare for the NNAT® lays out the progression in more detail.